These eleven poems will be published in the Winter issue of Rattle this December. Each of the Finalists are also eligible for the $2,000 Readers’ Choice Award, to be selected by entrant and subscriber vote (the voting period is December 1, 2016 – February 15, 2017).

Another six poems were selected for standard publication, and offered a space in the open section of a future issue. These poets will be notified individually about details, but they are: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, Leila Chatti, Chera Hammons, Liv Lansdale, Christine Potter, and Wendy Videlock.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the competition, which would not have been a success without your diverse and inspiring poems. We received a record 4,135 entries and well over 15,000 poems, and it was an honor to read each of them.